England stars were denied the chance to practice with the controversial World Cup ball - because a delivery of 25 of them went missing from the FA’s Wembley headquarters.

Manufacturers adidas sent the consignment of Jabulani balls to the FA in FEBRUARY and they were signed for on delivery.

But FA chiefs admit they have no idea what happened to the balls after they arrived at Wembley.

It meant Fabio Capello and his players did not start using them until their pre-tournament base camp in Austria last month.

Capello has slammed the Jabulani as “the worst ball” in World Cup history, blaming it for Rob Green’s spectacular howler in the 1-1 draw against the USA and blasting its unpredictable “trajectory”.

But Capello may be less pleased to discover that potentially vital practice time with the ball was denied them by an administrative cock-up.

England played a friendly with Egypt at Wembley in March and while they were contractually obliged to use an Umbro ball in the game the squad could have had their first taste of the Jabulani during the two behind-closed doors training sessions ahead of the game.

By contrast, Germany’s stars have been using the Jabulani in league games since Februray .

And MirrorFootball can reveal tonight’s second group opponents Algeria have also been using them for months and even asked for extra balls from Adidas in March to ensure their players were more comfortable with the ball, which has attracted global criticism.

Under test conditions, the Jabulani - which contributed hugely to the Greece goal which effectively knocked Nigeria out of the World Cup in the high altitude conditions of Bloemfontein last night - has been found to move less than the Nike ball used by all 20 Premier League clubs.

But at altitude, the ball flies faster and further, making control of it over long distances more difficult and adding to the problems for goalkeepers with unexpected last-second movements.

England are playing at sea level tonight and in Wednesday’s final group game against Slovenia at Port Elizabeth but are due to play their second round and quarter-finals at altitude, in Rustenburg and Johannesburg’s Ellis Park respectively.

Capello again reiterated his dislike of the ball last night when he said: “The goalkeepers are making mistakes because of the ball. The bounce is higher than normal.”

All 32 countries competing at the World Cup were supplied with the controversial ball in February according to FIFA regulations.

FIFA informed the competing nations in January that there would be a new ball and issued instructions as to how and when supplies would arrive.

Every country was given 25 balls - three, Algeria, Switzerland and Slovenia later asked Adidas for additional supplies.

The Jabulani was presented to international coaches at a seminar in Sun City, South Africa in February. They were given a technical briefing and informed how the ball had reacted in tests.

A spokesman for adidas, said: “The Football Associations of all 32 countries competing in the World Cup were sent 25 balls in February.

“I can confirm that a consignment of 25 balls were delivered to England at Wembley Stadium in February.”

The Jabulani was used at the African Cup of Nations and no complaints were received.